Thursday, October 10, 2013

New York Times, September 24, 2013, Tuesday

Consider how the labor supply of American women has failed to keep up with those of other advanced nations. In a study released earlier this year, Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn of Cornell University concluded that almost a third of the difference was because of the absence of family-friendly policies common in other rich nations, like mandatory maternity leave.

Professors Blau and Kahn also noted, however, that these policies could backfire, encouraging “women who would have otherwise had a stronger labor force commitment to take part-time jobs or lower-level positions.” They could encourage employer discrimination and “leave women less likely to be considered for high-level positions.”